Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB) COO Sells $263,115.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Williams Companies COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares at an average price of $58.47, totaling $263,115.00, which marks a 5.48% decrease in his holdings.
• The company reported $0.46 EPS, missing estimates of $0.49, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 19.0% to $2.78 billion.
• Williams Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%, while having a high dividend payout ratio of 100.50%.

Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,612 shares in the company, valued at $4,537,973.64. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WMB traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,394,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,772,950. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.79 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.24.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a net margin of 21.63% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 104.8% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Williams Companies from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.

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